VSCO/Emily Schreck Emily Schreck pictured on her VSCO page.
Emily Scheck, a gay student-athlete at Canisius College, says she was disowned by her parents after they discovered she was a lesbian. Then, the NCAA is told her to return every penny she earned from a GoFundMe page or face being removed from the Canisius’ track team. Scheck, 19, explained her situation in an interview with OutSports that was published on November 16. Shortly after the publication of the article, Scheck’s story went viral and prompted a response from the NCAA and from Canisius College who said that Scheck would not be removed from the team, nor would she have to give back the funds raised.
Scheck told OutSports that during the summer of 2018, while she was home in Rochester, New York, she received a text from her mother. Her mother said that she had discovered a photo of Scheck along with her then-girlfriend. Scheck said that her mother gave her the option of either being cut off from her parents or live at home and attend gay conversion therapy. Scheck says, “I really didn’t know how someone should respond to that.”
Scheck said that her parents had put her belongings in her car and removed the license plates from the vehicle after bringing the car to Canisius College, in Buffalo, New York. At the time, Scheck was on-campus in pre-season training for the school’s track team. Scheck being paid bi-weekly from her job at a Wegmans and a work-study job and therefore at the time her parents disowned her, she only had $20 to her name. Scheck was told to not contact her parents against or her siblings.
1. Scheck’s GoFundMe Page Is Named ‘Let Emily Be Herself’
The GoFundMe page that was set up for Scheck has raised more than $25,000 at the time of writing. The stated goal for the page was $5,000. The page’s URL is “Let Emily Be Herself.” The page says that Scheck is a graduate of Webster Schroeder high school in 2017 and is studying for a business degree. The OutSport feature on Scheck’s difficulties says that the Canisius NCAA compliance officer has told Scheck to return all of the money earned from the fundraising page or face removal from the school’s team. The GoFundMe page was set up by her roommate.
2. Scheck’s Parents Are Tim & Yolanda Scheck of Rochester, New York
LinkedIn/Yolanda ScheckYolanda Scheck pictured on her LinkedIn page.
According to Scheck’s official profile on Canisius College’s website, her parents are Tim and Yolanda Scheck of Rochester, New York. Scheck has two siblings, Ryan and Sarah. Tim Scheck works in textiles as a production manager for Adrian-Jules Limited. Yolanda Scheck is the assistant to the registrar at Nazareth College in Rochester. Her bio on the college’s website reads, “Yolanda manages all aspects of the ‘course building’ process, creating course sections each term and assigning rooms for each course offered. She handles new undergraduate (UG) course requests, responds to faculty workload questions, provides registration support for all international students, and supports the study abroad process.” As Emily Schreck’s story spread across the internet, Yolanda Schreck deleted her Facebook and LinkedIn profile pages.
3. Scheck’s Parents Have Also Stuck Her With a Discover Card Bill, She Says
Scheck told OutSports that in addition to the cost of going to school, where she is on a partial scholarship, her parents have also stuck her with a Discover Card bill. The bill was accumulated by her family on a recent vacation but the card has Scheck’s name on it. Scheck says that she has been reliant on her girlfriend for meals and other students for use of their books. When Scheck was initially disowned by her parents, she says her coach, Nate Huckle, provided her meals at the school. Huckle has said he would help Scheck get housing and “other financial options.” Officially, both the NCAA and Canisius College have said they are reviewing all of the options possible for Scheck.
4. Scheck’s Girlfriend Is Also on the School’s Track Team
Scheck’s girlfriend is her Canisius College track teammate Justyna Wilkinson. According to her profile on Canisius’ website, Wilkinson is a native of Deerfield, New York, and attended Whitesboro High School. Wilkinson described Scheck as her “girlfriend” in a Facebook post asking friends to donate to the GoFund Me page.
5. Scheck’s Roommate, Who Set Up the GoFundMe Page, Was Also Removed From the Track Team
The Canisius Griffin, the school’s student newspaper, reported on November 14 that Grace Hausladen, who set up the GoFundMe page had been removed from the track team. The report says that Hausladen was removed due to a violation of NCAA regulations was no longer eligible to run until next season.
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